The Chaebol’s Broken Bride

Chapter 3: The First Humiliation

The morning sunlight slanted through the grand windows of the Kang mansion, but it brought Hana no warmth. Her chest still ached from the previous night, and the messages on her phone had left her shaken.

She dressed carefully, choosing a modest outfit to avoid drawing attention. I just have to survive today, she reminded herself. One step at a time.

Downstairs, the mansion buzzed with activity. Servants hurried past carrying trays of food, polished silver, and stacks of paperwork. But Hana noticed that the bustling atmosphere didn’t make her feel welcome it made her feel smaller, like she was being swallowed by the enormity of the house and its invisible rules.

Madam Kang entered the dining hall first, her elegant figure commanding the room. Her eyes immediately fell on Hana.

“Ah… there you are,” she said, her voice smooth but sharp. “I hope you slept… well enough for someone who has so many responsibilities now.”

Hana nodded politely. “Yes, Madam Kang.”

The matriarch’s lips curved in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Good. You must remember, in this house, appearances are everything. Even a small mistake reflects on the family. And on you.”

Hana’s stomach tightened. She had expected criticism but not a warning layered in such cold elegance.

Soo-jin appeared next, walking in like she owned the room. Her smile was saccharine, her eyes glinting with something Hana couldn’t yet name.

“Good morning, sister,” she said sweetly. Then, leaning toward Hana just slightly, her whisper cut through the polite atmosphere like a knife.

“Don’t forget… you have to earn your place here. One misstep, and everyone will see your true… status.”

Hana’s face flushed, but she forced herself to smile. Status… I will survive this. I have to.

Breakfast passed in tense silence. Hana tried to engage politely with the family, but every word she spoke seemed to draw subtle glances of disapproval. A spoon misplaced, a cough at the wrong time, a pause too long all could be interpreted as weakness.

Then came the first public humiliation.

Madam Kang placed a delicate tea cup before Hana and said, “Hold it properly. A lady of the Kang family does not spill her tea.”

Hana carefully lifted the cup. Her hands shook slightly. She had never been skilled at high-society etiquette, but she tried her best.

Soo-jin smirked from across the table. “Oh… look at that,” she said softly, loud enough for the others to hear. “It’s like she’s holding a child’s toy instead of a cup. Maybe we should get her some lessons.”

A ripple of laughter spread through some of the younger relatives. Hana’s face burned. Her fingers gripped the cup tighter, and a bead of sweat formed at her temple.

Madam Kang’s eyes flicked to her. “Careful, Hana. One mistake, and everyone will see that you do not belong here.”

Hana set the cup down with trembling hands. She wanted to disappear. Every bone in her body screamed to run back to her old life, to her modest home, to safety.

But she couldn’t.

She had a family to save.

And as she endured the cold stares and whispered laughter, she realized something even more terrifying than humiliation:

Her husband sat silently at the head of the table. Watching. Observing. Saying nothing.

Hana forced herself to hold her head high. I will not cry. I will survive.

But the whisper of her sister-in-law from the night before still lingered in her mind:

“The real test begins tomorrow.”

And Hana understood fully this was only the beginning.

Later that evening, Hana returned to her room, exhausted. She thought she might finally be alone.

Then the lights flickered and her phone buzzed again.

Another message.

This one read:

“You think you survived today? Tomorrow… will be worse. -Soo-jin”

Hana’s stomach dropped. She gripped her blanket tightly. Tomorrow… worse?

After breakfast, Hana thought the ordeal might finally end. Perhaps she could retreat to her room and gather her courage for the long day ahead. But the Kang mansion had other plans.

As she walked down the hallway, her heels clicking on the marble floor, she heard laughter light, teasing, and unmistakably directed at her.

Hana froze. She peeked around the corner and saw Soo-jin leaning against the staircase railing, surrounded by a few younger family members.

“Oh, look at her trying to walk in those shoes,” Soo-jin said, her voice sweet but venomous. “I almost feel sorry for her. Almost.”

The younger relatives giggled. Hana’s cheeks burned, and she looked down, wishing she could melt into the floor.

But before she could retreat, Soo-jin called out, loud enough for the whole hallway to hear:

“Careful, sister! Don’t trip on the way to the family meeting. We wouldn’t want anyone to see the future matriarch faceplant.”

Hana’s heart raced. She forced a polite smile and quickened her pace, ignoring the snickers.

She reached the main hall where a formal meeting of the Kang family was being held. The room was vast, filled with polished wood, gold accents, and portraits of ancestors who seemed to judge every newcomer.

Madam Kang’s eyes locked onto hers immediately.

“Ah… there she is,” Madam Kang said, her tone sharp. “Hana, come here.”

Hana stepped forward, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

“You will present yourself properly,” Madam Kang continued. “Explain to the family why you married into the Kang house, and why they should believe you deserve a place here.”

Hana’s mind raced. Explain myself? I barely know how to navigate this house, and now I must justify my existence to them?

She swallowed hard and spoke, her voice trembling slightly but steady:

“I… married into this family to support my parents and my younger brother. I hope… I can live up to the expectations placed upon me, and…”

Soo-jin rolled her eyes subtly, and one of the cousins snickered. Madam Kang raised an eyebrow.

“You hope? Hope is not enough,” Madam Kang said coldly. “In this family, we do not hope. We do. Do you understand?”

Hana nodded, her throat tight. “Yes, Madam Kang.”

Soo-jin leaned slightly toward a cousin and whispered loud enough for Hana to hear:

“Poor thing… she really thinks this will be easy. It’s not even the beginning.”

Hana felt her chest tighten. Her heart pounded. She had survived the first morning but she already knew this family had only begun testing her.

After the meeting, the family dispersed, leaving Hana standing alone in the grand hall. She felt a sudden weight on her shoulders, a heaviness that pressed down like the entire house was watching.

She pulled out the photograph from the previous night—the one of her husband with another woman. Her fingers trembled.

Why would Soo-jin send this to me? she wondered. Is she trying to scare me… or warn me?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door to the hall.

It was Daniel Choi, her husband’s assistant. He looked nervous.

“Miss Hana… I… I just wanted to warn you,” he said quietly. “The sister-in-law… she’s not just teasing. She… she’s dangerous. Be careful.”

Hana’s heart skipped a beat. “Dangerous? What do you mean?”

Daniel hesitated, glancing around as if he feared someone was listening.

“Just… don’t trust anyone yet. Not even family,” he whispered.

Before she could ask more, he hurried away, leaving Hana alone with her racing thoughts.

She clutched the photograph to her chest.

I am trapped here, she realized. And everyone seems determined to make me suffer… including my own husband.

Her stomach twisted as she climbed the stairs to her room.

Then, just as she reached the top step, a note slipped under the door.

Hana picked it up with trembling hands. The words were written in neat, deliberate handwriting:

“Smile. Or everyone will see you’re weak. Soo-jin”

Hana’s hands shook.

The grand mansion, beautiful as it was, suddenly felt like a cage.

And she knew, deep down, that the real battle had only just begun.

That night, as Hana tried to sleep, a soft tap at her window made her sit upright.

Lightning flashed, and for a heartbeat, she thought she saw a figure watching her from the garden below.

Her heart raced.

Who is really controlling this house? And what do they want from me?